Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2013 Official Anti-ACM’s Saving Country Music Live Blog!

As the night proceeds we will leave our ACM observations from the broadcast in a timeline below, so get you refresh finger stretched and ready to go. You are strongly encouraged to participate by leaving your observations in the comments section below. Feel free to watch along, or if you can’t stand the awards, then turn on some real country music and follow the awards vicariously through us! This is an exercise for old souls to find solace in humor from the ridiculousness that is a country music awards show.

The blog will proceed in Central time. The ACM’s start at 8 PM Est., 7 Cen., and will be delay broadcast at 8 PM Pacific. The ACM’s are being broadcast on CBS.

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10:20 – So it’s just the ACM Awards folks! They will always be the stepchild to the more-important and generally more-fair CMA’s, and some of the production value tonight proved why the CMA’s are the ACM’s senior. Multiple vocal performances came across as weak because of simple technical issues–buried vocals, misfires in the production room, and some off-key stuff from folks who are usually nails. There was an alarming number of performances from outside the genre, and that doesn’t include the two country rap songs. The mono-genre is here folks, and if you needed any more validation, tonight was living proof. After a year off after Jason Aldean’s “Dirt Road Anthem,” country rap is on its way to becoming the most dominant influence in country music. And the fact that Blake Shelton got two full performances, both with genre-bending songs and this inspiring crop of country women who are doing everything they can to save the genre got the complete snub only makes the task of trying to right the country music ship that much more difficult.

I may have a more in-depth analysis of Luke Bryan’s Entertainer of the Year win, but it truly is an alarming development. I didn’t think he had a prayer, and now yet another two-bit, shallow country male performer has received a big boost of legitimacy.

10:07 – Composing some final thoughts and then we’ll wrap it up.

10:04 – And they have Stevie Wonder, STEVIE WONDER end the night. Man, this night turned from laughable to downright seditious. We gotta lot of work to do people!

9:59 – Ladies and gentlemen, this is horrible. This was the WORST person that could have won Entertainer of the Year. I didn’t think Luke Bryan had a chance. This is a terrible, alarming development.

9:57 – Luke Bryan wins the ACM for Entertainer of the Year.

9:57 – You’re FUCKING kidding me.

9:56 – Shania Twin has been dick teasing the industry about a comeback now for 10 years.

9:54 – Thought both Garth and George Strait did a great job on the Dick Clark tribute.

9:53 – Entertainer of the Year coming up. Remember, it is fan voted. If you’re wondering how successful that approach usually is, just look at Washington.

9:51 – Taylor Swift loses me more and more with every awkward shot of her in the crowd trying to look authentic.

9:49 – No beef with Stevie Wonder. As far as I’m concerned, he’s a music legend. But I have no idea why in the world this performance would be happening right now.

9:32 – Can’t stress enough how significant this event is. It was thought for years that George Strait would not perform with Garth because of a behind-the-scenes feud, and Strait did not want to give Garth any country legitimacy by performing with him. This might be part of the continued rehabilitation of Garth Brooks’ legacy.

9:31 – The official country music douche Jason Aldean wins he ACM for “Male Vocalist of the Year.”

9:05 – The only two John Mayer country music tie-in’s I can find are him banging a 19-year-old Taylor Swift, and inexplicably making Shooter Jennings so extremely mad for cutting his hair, Shooter found it necessary to come out publicly against it.

9:02 – Only on the ACM’s can you cut to LL Cool J and get more country.

8:59 – Taylor Swift’s gesticulations are almost as big of an ass whip as Tim McGraw’s vocals. Can’t remember an awards show with this many bad vocal performances. Taylor is actually remarkably not horrible. All night, the lead vocals have felt washed out.

8:49 – The ACM Single Record of the Year is “Over You” by Miranda Lambert.

8:49 – Wow, I’m pretty sure this chick presenting the Single of the Year very well might be Satan.

8:50 – Even Garth Brooks right now is going, “Okay, that’s taking it too far.”

8:40 – So the only face time Kacey Musgraves gets is presenting an award? Bullsh.

8:38 – The ACM Song of the Year goes to “Over You” by Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. Blake Shelton’s personal baggage aside, this is a good, inspired song that probably deserves the award more than the others.

8:35 – These ultra-attitude songs from country’s women like “Mamma’s Broken Heart” are almost just as bad as then men’s laundry list songs. Well written, but the bravado is more indicative of rock than country. Where is the subtly and humility? “Over You” is a much better song.

8:28 – The ACM for Vocal Group of the Year goes to Little Big Town, buffered by their bullshit song about “motorboatin'”

8:24 –

8:23 – Jason Aldean’s “1994” is the worst song in the history of country music. Period.

8:22 – Listen to me folks, Florida Georgia line is gonna get HUGE!

8:21 – The ACM New Artist of the Year is Florida-Georgia Line.

8:15 – For those curious, here’s the back story on why there’s bad blood between Eric Church and Miranda Lambert, resulting in Miranda’s haughty delivery when announcing Eric winning Album of the Year: http://www.theboot.com/2012/04/30/eric-church-rolling-stone-interview-blake-shelton-miranda-lambert/

8:12 – WOW! WAY too much time spent on bullshit choreograph resulting in breathy, out-of-tune vocals. The Band Perry deliver the worst performance of the night so far. Eat your heart out Taylor Swift.

8:10 – Awful, AWFUL vocals from The Band Perry and her little hobbit-haired brothers.

8:07 – Blake Shelton looks like a hemorrhoid suffer squeezing out a two flusher. Jesus.

8:06 – Okay, so why in the HELL does Blake “The Decider” Shelton get two performances on this dumb thing? Are you serious? And we’re not even half way through.

8:05 – WOW! Did we all hear the chocked back anger from Miranda Lambert having to give Eric Church that award? Remember the two have a history, when Eric called out artists with backgrounds in reality shows.

8:04 – The ACM Album of the Year goes to Eric Church’s “Chief.”

8:03 – Apparently John Fogerty could only attend the ACM’s if he wore a shock collar.

8:01 – First solid vocal performance of the night goes to Carrie Underwood. Think what you want, girl can sing.

8:00 – Seeing NO confirmation that girl performing with Eric Church was up-and-coming female country crooner Valerie June.

7:57 – Random Factoid: Kim Jung Un has been using Carrie Underwood’s light up dress from the Grammys to enrich enough uranium to nuke Guam.

7:52 – 34 seconds of Brantley Gilbert is still too much.

7:50 – This is how seriously Brantley Gilbert takes himself:

7:48 – The ACM Award for “Best Vocal Duo” goes to Thompson Square.

7:47 – Getting to our first actual award 48 minutes in.

7:45 – Ha! Farce the Music on Twitter: “This is a dopey Target commercial.”

7:43 – If country music was a color, the first three colors I would eliminate from the running are the one’s comprising this Lady Antebellum background.

7:05 – Sheryl Crow is the Sheryl Crow of Sheryl Crowing music to death.

7:04 – The Pistol Annies are more man than Luke Bryan will ever be.

7:02 – Shouldn’t Luke Bryan be in Cancun, wearing pastel pants and an Affliction T-shirt and trying to bang sophomores in his Mini Cooper?

6:58 — Another award has been giving out pre-telecast. Jason Aldean, Eric Church, and Luke Bryan win “Vocal Event of the Year” for the song “The Only Way I Know.”

6:55 — So a few things we already know going into the night: It is being hosted by “the Decider” Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan. The show will start off with a rendition of the Blake Shelton “Boys ‘Round Here” country-rap monstrosity with appearances by Sheryl Crow, The Pistol Annies, and Brad Paisley. There’s going to be a Dick Clark tribute partnering George Strait and Garth Brooks together for the first time. And along with all the usual pop country suspects making performances, John Mayer and Stevie Wonder are slated to perform.

6:50 — A few non-televised ACM awards have already been given out for folks that care about that kind of stuff.

–Lady Antebellum received the “Jim Reeves International Award,” which is presented to an artist for outstanding contributions to the acceptance of country music throughout the world (whatever that means).

–Jason Aldean received the “Crystal Milestone Award,” which is given to an artist or industry leader to commemorate a specific, remarkable achievement, in this case for Aldean achieving stadium headliner status.

–Blake Shelton was given the “Gene Weed Special Achievement Award,” which acknowledges unprecedented, unique and outstanding individual achievement in country music, primarily for his work on the reality show “The Voice.”

–And The Judds and Keith Whitley were awarded the “Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award,” honoring individuals who are pioneers in the country music genre.

How did I miss the point? I made a comment about his misogyny and he tried to turn it into a comment about the industry’s misogyny. You can’t have it both ways you can’t accuse the men of the industry of being misogynist at the same time you attack a woman’s femininity for the sake of a dumb steroids joke.

I get that it is a joke about Armstrong, but if the easiest joke you can think of insults a woman for appearing manly to you that is misogyny. You could make an Armstrong joke without a comment about a woman having an Adam’s apple. I don’t know this guy and his feelings about women, but in my opinion it was a sexist comment.

Look, I apologize if you were offended, but it was nothing more than an attempt at humor. I understand that comment or this blog may have been your first interfacing with this website, but trust me, I think many people would speak to my long-standing and vehement attempt to put the women of music on an equal footing as men, if not on a greater footing, especially considering right now they are the ones leading country music while many of the men are dragging it down. I don’t expect you to know this, but I would wish you would take my word that this is the case. Here are a couple of recent articles that may help establish this.

I would argue that Dierks is. He has so quality songs. i think he puts a couple ‘radio’ songs on every cd to make a ton of money and the rest are good. King George and Eli are nice to see on here though.

Did anybody catch the video behind Brad Paisley? I could swear at the end of the song he showed a quick clip of Roger Miller. Could that be Paisley taking sides in that fued between Blake and Miller? Was that Roger Miller??

I’ve also seen him in very small venues and his performance tonight was quite like my favorites from the bar shows. How does a backup singer mess it up? Valerie is very good at what she does. Eric is at his worst when he is giving his chest bruises. I’m also glad he left the “i want to remind you of hank jr’ glasses at home.

Wife is watching that garbage in the other room. When she asked my seven year old son if he wanted to watch the country music awards, he said “That cruise song is not country”. He brought his iPad to me, we are currently listening to Whitey Morgan. Awfully proud of that boy!

Would you shut the fuck up and quit crying about the CMAs? Country music, just like any other music genre, has changed since its beginning. All music genres have changed due to new technology, new instruments, and many other factors. If it bothers you that much buy a box of tissues, soak up your bitch tears, and get a fucking life!

There’s nothing wrong with country music changing over time, but the problem in my opinion anyway is that now the lyrics, at least in most mainstream country, are completely devoid of substance. I mean, if you compare writers like Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson to the material out there today, it quickly becomes obvious how far the genre has declined.

Hard to watch the awards show. So disappointed at what country music has become. It gets worse and worse every year. I’m only in my early 30s, but miss the classics like Keith Whitley, Johnny Cash, and George Jones. Eric Church, Sheryl Crow, etc…they can sing, but are not country.

I read the garbage on this site everyday and all it is is complaining about how country music is so “manufactured.” But yet you could say the same for the music you consider “OUTLAW” or TRADITIONAL COUNTRY.” Regardless of what kind of music it is, you people have a recipe or standard for what makes it that kind of music. And when you have a standard or recipe for something it is MANUFACTURED!

What makes it outlaw country is there IS no set recipe. It’s a genre composed of people who have creative people and do as they damn well please. Country music artist in today’s time do not meet that criteria. I don’t believe that’s a recipe, it’s just how it is.

Gram Parson’s played out in the west instead of being in the east where singers were being forced into doing things they didn’t want to do, or they wouldn’t get any airplay or get booked. He didn’t do that to meet a criteria, he did it because he wanted freedom over his music.

This site is for country music enthusiast and it’s ran by Trig, therefore why should he be the one who should stop the bitching? You’re the one who’s taking their sweet ass time to comment and read what’s going on here. Don’t like? Shut the fuck up and go the hell somewhere.

I love all the brainwashed fools on this site that think they can actually “change” country music back to its glory days. I like traditional country (Hank Sr, Cash, Waylon), new/pop country (Aldean, Bryan, Gary Allan), and even the music the people on here call “traditional or outlaw country” (Hank III, Bob Wayne, Hellbound Glory) but you people on here are so block headed and narrow minded. You act like country is the only genre that has strayed away from its roots and its not. Its happened to every genre of music.

With all due respect, of course country isn’t the only genre that has strayed from its roots, and to my knowledge no one said it was. And I don’t think anyone really believes country will return to its glory days, but that doesn’t it can’t be improved from its current state.

hahahaha I’m not angry. I just find it funny how upset you people are about how “country music” is being “ruined” apparently. if you guys want to change country music go write some good “traditional country music” for us to enjoy instead of crying on here about Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, and everyone else making more money singing on stage than you and I sitting here typing on a computer. YOU’RE EITHER PART OF THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION BABY!!!

John Mayer makes my skin crawl but right now he’s more country than most others tonight. I don’t mind country being diverse, rock out, rap is a stretch IMHO (Jason Aldean, please stop. just stop)…. I love just about all of it regardless… But maybe these awards should make some distinction, e.g., Best Country Rock Performance, Best Country Pop Song….. and also Traditional Country… whatever. And including a few old-time country performers, having a balance of entertainers, would be so nice.

I think I heard the same pre-recorded track misfire, along with the drummer in the VERY beginning of The Band Perry’s performance. He started (very enthusiastically) and a second later the sound, lights, and other performers started. I Would say check it out

Another thing about the Stevie Wonder performances (I hope my love for “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” won’t be permanently tainted by this association…), as well as the George Strait-Garth Brooks thing — they really went to show how much simple, sturdy songcraft in modern popular music has declined since the ’70s and even the ’90s. If anything, they just made most of the newer songs seem all the more pathetic.

I LOVE Stevie Wonder. But two songs on the ACM Awards show? I can see why I left country after they blacklisted the Dixie Chicks a few years ago. I haven’t missed a thing except the total deterioration of this music. The term “country” itself has lost its meaning.

Look, at least Luke Byran is dedicated full-time towards being a crappy country-pop singer; Taylor Swift isn’t even devoting half of her time towards that, and is instead focusing some 75% of it towards being a crappy pop singer instead. Luke Bryan is by far the worst of the non-Taylor nominees.

The thing is, Taylor is an already-established known quantity, that appears to be moving totally away from country on her own. Give her the award, who cares? Giving it to Bryan now establishes a brand new top-tier country music franchise we have to deal with, and one that pouts out horrible music.

I need to think a little bit more about this. I honestly thought he had no chance of wining. I thought it was between Taylor and Blake. I also don’t think there’s any way the fans voted that way. Taylor and Blake both have way more fans and a more dedicated following. This was all about establishing a new franchise.

Luke Bryan, like Jason Aldean, caters to the young party crowd. Nashville is clearly trying to appeal to that crowd. Selling to the young party crowd is the easy way to make money, and requires neither talent nor creativity. The conventional thinking is that young people buy MORE music than older people, and the party crowd tends to buy the SAME music, which makes it easier to manufacture hits. There has also been a big trend towards the urbanization of youth culture in the past 10 years, which Nashville has been trying to keep up with by introducing rap elements into the music.

There is a large segment of consumers that mainstream music, and mainstream country in particular, is ignoring. Many rural residents are older. Many are more introverted people who want a quieter lifestyle. Many are more traditional in their cultural views and music tastes. But Nashville isn’t sure if they will buy music in large numbers, and doesn’t even try to sell to them because it is seen as commercially too risky.

Blake has more Twitter followers than the other boys because he’s a drunken tweeting machine. However, Taylor has about 41 million Facebook fans. Jason has 6.8 million, Luke and Blake each have 4.1 million, and Miranda has 4.5 million. People are sick of Taylor Swift. Her fans did not vote en masse as they have in the past. Theoretically, Aldean should have won this. The general public, however, still has a vivid disdain for him, as most fans were put off by the pictures of him sucking face with some skank in the window of a bar last fall. (His wife was noticeably absent tonight.) (hmmmmm….)

Douchey as you may think he is, Luke Bryan was truly appreciative of the award. He also has a lot of good COUNTRY songs that you will never hear on the radio. He was actually raised on a farm and is a real country boy. He’s busted his ass on the road, he’s churned out hit after hit, his record sales and digital sales are high… He DID deserve to win. Plus, little girls (and grown women) think he’s hot.

Despite 1994, I was hoping Aldean would win, but I’m just glad Taylor did not. Luke is deserving of the award.

“The thing is, Taylor is an already-established known quantity, that appears to be moving totally away from country on her own. Give her the award, who cares? Giving it to Bryan now establishes a brand new top-tier country music franchise we have to deal with, and one that pouts out horrible music.”

Well, country music fans for one. What has she actually done in country music last year? She released a pop album with a pop-dedicated lead single. The only ‘country’ single she has released outside of WANEGBT is “Begin Again”, which had to be heavily pushed by Big Machine because it was going to peak outside the top five. Simply put, she has done nothing to warrant this award – period.

“I need to think a little bit more about this. I honestly thought he had no chance of wining. I thought it was between Taylor and Blake. I also don”™t think there”™s any way the fans voted that way. Taylor and Blake both have way more fans and a more dedicated following. This was all about establishing a new franchise.”

Neither did I, but it happened. We’ll have to see what this means, honestly.

Didn’t watch the damn thing, kind of knew who was hosting, Mr. “Jackass” and “Old Farts,” and knew where it was going before it ever aired. Country is in a downward spiral ever so getting deeper. We need to ignore the posers who somehow seem to get popular everyday and focus on the independents who struggle everyday to keep country alive. Down with popular country!!!!!!!!!!!! P.S. why do people still like Blake Shelton? Anyone? Can anyone please answer this enigma for me? If you have an answer please reply.

Where was Easton Corbin? Did he attend? I don’t let them pull ratings from my television set for these “Country” awards monstrosities so I didn’t watch, but I was curious because he really is a LOT more country than that!

I hear ya loud and clear about Luke Bryan winning the Entertainer of the Year award, but I’d still rather him win it than Blake Shelton. Shelton is who I despise the most out of this current crop of Nashville country-pop artists. Shelton is just too full of himself.

But, you’re right when you say that Bryan will now be launched into a much bigger status that we’ll now have to deal with I guess. Or at least when we turn on a Top 40 country radio station or watch these award shows over the next decade.

It was all summed up at the end when new entertainer of the year Luke Bryan,Bryant who really cares…took country music on his shoulders and the tweeter, Facebook, manufactured douche bag he is, put up a high five to Stevie Wonder.

What happened to Trisha Yearwood? I remember several years ago when all this pop country junk started and Nashville started to become Nashvegas, I heard Trisha do an interview on WJR Detroit and she said something like, I’d like to see some of these people put up against some real singers on a stage with just a guitar and a see if they could even carry a tune or harmonize.

Eric mentioned the digital age (itunes, amazon, etc.) and satellite radio, yet they all still have different sections and stations with different genres and subgenres. And Billboard, Mediabase etc. still have separate charts for different genres even though (and it sucks that) Billboard counts pop airplay for the Hot Country chart now. And awards still have different categories and shows for different genres. So they all must think genres still exist. Seems like it’s only FM country radio playing everything from pop to country on the same stations. Pop radio isn’t playing George Strait. “There’s good music, there’s bad music.” No doubt about that.

1. Jason Aldean now knows what he’ll look like in 20 years… seriously Garth, shave the douche-beard and tuck your damned shirt back in. Awesome performance though, and you’re still one of my favorites.

2. It’s about goddamned time Garth and George collaborated, we can only dream that this is the preview of more to come. Even with the weird audio problems and George’s voice cracking just a bit, this was by far one of the coolest and best performances at an awards show in years, and it’s too bad it was so damned short.

First off I wanna go on record and say thank you guys for creating this website because I cannot tell you how relieved I am for knowing that I’m not alone on the state of Country Music. With that said I figure go ahead and post the same sentiments I shared after the night of this show: I’ve said it many times that I’ve left Nashville Country because the songs these days are basically Hip-Hop in the Sticks and overall the ceremonies this year just proved my point. I’m sitting through the ACM Awards last night with a pounding headache because of the crap that was being played throughout the night just so I could see Garth and Strait. After that performance and the length of it in general when it should’ve definitely been more, it’s completely unforgivable how it turned out and I have officially had it with Nashville Country so I don’t care if even they do like a George Strait Retirement Special I refuse to watch a Country Music Award Show from either the CMA, ACM, or even Fox’s new one anymore. Over. Done. End of Story.